Everything's on Fire
by LilyCullen1121
Summary: Edward has been lucky enough to find a foster family that really loves him. When they start in a new school, though, he notices a girl who doesn't want to be seen, who seems so afraid. He becomes obsessed with discovering the source of her fear, of taking her away from it - before it burns her alive. Maybe the family that saved him can save her too. AH.
1. Chapter 1

**It's always slightly nerve-wracking to start a new story, but this one is special. I don't know how many of you have read "Broken Angel" and its sequels by the amazing drotuno, but it's an AU, all-vamp story about what would have happened had Edward not returned to Bella in _New Moon_ (it's an ExB story). It is quite simply a beautiful piece of work, and I get it confused with canon in my head. Anyway, *SPOILER ALERT* in the sequel, the Cullens (including Bella) return to high school – Portland, Oregon, this time. The girls and Jasper are foster children, whereas Emmett and Edward are adopted by Carlisle and Esme. The story that Edward and Bella are using to explain their relationship is that he saved her from an abusive home environment and the Cullens took her in.**

**This story captured my imagination, so I PM'd drotuno to ask her permission to turn it into a full AH story, and not only did she agree, but she set me up with her lovely beta, JenRar. Here's a link to "Broken Angel;" you don't need to read it to understand this story, but it's still life-changingly good. **

** s/5134656/1/bBroken_b_bAngel_b**

**The title comes from the song that Taylor Swift wrote for the Hunger Games film, entitled "Safe and Sound." Here's a link to the music video:**

** watch?v=RzhAS_GnJIc**

**And so… here we go!**

_She slipped her key into the door and turned the knob as quietly as possible, hoping that her entry could go unnoticed. She wasn't sure that he'd be angry – she could never be sure – but it wasn't a risk she wanted to take. But his car was in the driveway, meaning he'd come home early, and he rarely came home early unless something was wrong._

_Taking a deep breath, hugging her bag tightly to her chest with her other hand, she eased the door open and slipped into the house. A swift glance told her that he wasn't in the living room, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Quickly, she scuttled across the foyer and had just put one foot on the bottom stair when his voice rumbled out of the kitchen._

"_Is that you? You finally home?"_

_She swallowed hard, feeling her gut twist up. He was drunk._

"_Yeah, Dad," she forced out. "I'm sorry, traffic was bad…"_

"_Don't want to hear it. Just get in here," he grunted._

_Trying to will away the sudden pressure behind her eyes, she took her foot off the stair and trudged down the hall, entering the kitchen with her things still in her arms. He was leaning against the counter, glaring at her, his tie loosened and the top two buttons of his shirt undone. "When are you going to start making dinner?"_

_She repressed a sigh. "I was going to try to organize my stuff for school tomorrow, but if you want –"_

"_Shit, girl," he cut her off, "you can do your damn school shit later." He shoved away from the counter and made for the kitchen door. "Broil those steaks tonight."_

_She didn't watch him leave, and when she sarcastically muttered "Please" under her breath, she didn't think that there was any way that he'd hear it._

_The heavy footsteps stopped behind her and she tensed, her back going rigid. She should have known better, she should have _known_…_

"_What did you say?" he growled, and she whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut, unable to move beyond that. He gripped her shoulder and swung her around, his fingers digging into her muscle, cutting off her circulation. "Answer me!"_

_She darted her gaze up to his eyes, internally shrinking back from the fire in them. "N-nothing," she stammered. "I was just starting to – to list ingredients that I'll need to get out. That's it."_

_He stared at her, his beady eyes scouring her face, his teeth bared. She knew her breathing was shallow, but she tried desperately to keep the fear out of her expression. She knew by now that if she showed her fear, it would only make it worse. Best to just take it, let him lose interest, let it end quickly–_

_Abruptly, he shoved her away from him, and she stumbled a few steps but did not fall. She caught herself on the countertop and tried to make the action look unnecessary._

"_Get on with it, then," he grumbled, and staggered away from her. She heard his boots pound down the hallway and up the stairs, but did not move until she heard the slamming of his bedroom door._

_She exhaled, shaking, and passed a hand over her eyes, collecting herself before she turned and began the preparations for dinner._

_Not today, then. Not today._

~oOo~

"Kids," Esme shouted from the bottom of the stairs, "you need to get going, please! Come eat breakfast!"

There was a thundering in the hall outside my door, and I laughed to myself. The word "breakfast" was definitely the fastest way to get Emmett out of bed on any given morning.

For my part, I just rolled and stretched, folding my arms behind my head as I stared at the ceiling. Seattle. I would be starting my junior year of high school in Seattle, rather than in Portland, where I'd spent nearly all my life. Granted, not much of that life had been a good one for me and my brother Emmett – our alcoholic stepfather had made sure of that. It was only after Emmett was arrested for possession of marijuana that the state removed us from that household and put us in foster care. Lucky for us, Carlisle and Esme Cullen had just found out that they wouldn't be able to have kids, and Esme, who had been a public librarian, had noticed that I would come to her library every day after school to avoid going back to the group home for just a few more hours. We got to talking, and, long story short, she and Carlisle had started the foster-parents process for me and Emmett before he was even done with his court proceedings. Our adoption was expedited as well, and we had changed our last names to Cullen.

The Cullens had already taken in Carlisle's niece and nephew, twins named Jasper and Rosalie, and they were Emmett's age. Emmett's attraction to Rosalie had been as instant as it had been unexpected, but Carlisle and Esme decided that as long as they were being safe, no one should have a problem with it. That had been two years ago, when the three of them had been sophomores in high school and I had been a freshman.

Halfway through my freshman year, the Cullens had become foster parents of Alice, a girl who had been abandoned by her family because they couldn't handle her extreme intelligence – it bordered on neuroticism sometimes. But we loved her, and she was happy with us. She was happy all the time, now, actually, which was really nice. She and Jasper were just now beginning to explore their love for each other after having lived in denial for nearly two years. I was glad for them.

I'd never felt alone, even surrounded by couples the way I was. I hadn't yet really had time to think about it. Oh, I'd dated, taken girls to school dances, and all the rest of it; I'd even slept with Danielle, who had called herself my girlfriend from the end of sophomore year right up until we moved to Seattle this past August. But I knew I'd been driven more by curiosity than anything else. I didn't love Danielle. And while it had been sad leaving her, my world hadn't gone up in flames or anything. The way I knew it would for Emmett if he had to leave Rose, or if Jasper had to leave Alice.

Whatever. I'd finish off high school in Seattle, and hopefully get a cross-country running scholarship somewhere. Again, it wasn't that I was anxious to leave, it was just… I don't know.

For the first time in a long time, I wondered what my stepfather, David, was doing with his life now. I wondered if my mother was still with him. She'd made noise about leaving him if the courts had allowed us to stay with her, but in chambers, Emmett and I had told the judge that we didn't think she ever would. We knew she didn't love us; our father had also been deemed an unfit guardian, but he still had to send her child support money, which was her main incentive for wanting us back. Once she'd lost us, though, we never heard from her again, although Esme and Carlisle made sure that she knew she could contact us.

Sighing, I rolled out of bed and began digging around for clean clothes. There wasn't any reason for me to think of either of them, especially not now, not on the first day of my junior year of high school, which everyone had always told me was the most important year. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt with a black button-down over it, ran a hand through my hair, and slung my still-clean backpack over my shoulder before leaving the room.

"Edward!" Alice squealed as she caught up with me in the hallway, and I grinned down at her.

"Hi, pixie." I ruffled her hair. "You ready for today?"

She nodded happily. "Uh-huh. I'm excited. They let me into _AP Physics,_ Edward, how cool is that?"

I laughed at her. "You've only mentioned that about sixteen times, fun-sized. Come on."

"What about you?" she asked. "We're staying late after school so you can try out for the track team, right?"

"I think so," I shrugged. "The coach said he'd let me do it today, but that might've just been to shut Esme up. Let's not come across as the pushy doctor's kids, though. I mean, if he forgot, I won't push it."

Alice humphed as we descended the stairs and made our way into the kitchen, but then giggled at the sight of Emmett stuffing his face full of toast and bacon. "What?" he grunted at her. "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," laughed Esme. "Make sure that you leave some for the others. And Jasper," she added, turning to him were he was sprawled over one of the kitchen chairs, a cup of coffee in his hand, "you need to eat more than just that, sweetie."

"Fine, Mom," Jasper sighed dramatically, extending a hand for Alice, which she skipped to his side to take. He lifted another piece of toast as well as a banana onto his plate before helping Alice build hers.

Esme turned to wink at me. "Edward, sweetie, eat something. This is important."

"'Kay," I sighed, dropping a kiss onto her head. I was almost six inches taller than she was, which almost made me sad. "Where's Rose?"

"Sleeping in–" Emmett started to snort, but was cut off by Rosalie calling out, "Here," as she entered the room. "Nice try, Emmett, and you better have left me some bacon."

"There's plenty!" he defended himself, gesturing at the stove. "Why does everyone assume that I'll always eat everything? God!"

"Because you swallowed a vacuum as a small child," I said, raising my eyebrows at him as I sat down with my own plate. "I was there. I saw it."

"Fu– screw you," he hastily amended when Esme raised her eyebrows at him.

Once we were all settled and eating to her satisfaction, Esme took one of the last seats at the table and began tapping her fingertips together in a gesture that meant that she was nervous. I exchanged a glance with Jasper as we both set down our toast. "Kids," Esme started, "first of all, your father apologizes that he had to go into work early today, but he says he'll definitely be here when you get home. Second," she faltered, and looked almost pleadingly at Emmett, Rose, and Jasper, "you _are_ all right with this, aren't you? I mean, moving high schools the year before graduation?"

"Mom," Jasper laughed, holding up his hand. "Think about it. If we tell people that we graduated from a Portland public high school, they're going to automatically assume that we're stoners. It's fine. And besides, Dad being chief of staff at that hospital… that's pretty cool."

"And it's not like we won't have any friends," Emmett added, grinning as he gestured around the table. "Instant posse."

"Did you just say posse?" Alice demanded, scrunching up her nose.

"Shut it, short shit."

"Language," Esme scolded, but more out of habit than anything else. She was used to Emmett by now; we all were. "Well... if you're sure. I'm glad that they're letting you play football at any rate, Emmett. Rosalie, when is your special tryout for the cheer team?"

"Next Monday," she answered. "But they've already seen my video audition, and I'm pretty sure I'm in."

"Okay," Esme sighed. "And Edward, your cross-country tryout is today?"

I nodded.

"Well then," she started, then paused, and Emmett groaned loudly when it looked like she was tearing up. "I'm just so proud of you all for handling this so well. We kind of sprung it on you."

"And how are _you_ feeling about your new job?" Alice piped up, clearly trying to change the subject. When Carlisle had told us about the job offer in Seattle, Esme had contacted Seattle University through Oregon University, where she had taught at the time, and asked if they had any adjunct positions open in their English department. They had, and she would be teaching two sections of English 252, Readings in British Literature I, from AD 600 to the Nineteenth Century.

Esme exhaled slowly. "Good. I'm glad to get back to English instead of Communications, and it will be nice to have smaller class sizes." She glanced at the clock and made a face that was half smile, half grimace. "You all should get going, you don't know what parking will be like."

We nodded and stood, Emmett shoving one last piece of toast into his mouth, and took it in turns to hug Esme. "You all have a good day, and Emmett and Jasper, take care of the others."

"Misogyny," Rosalie snorted, and Esme smacked her on the arm.

"I just meant that you can take care of yourself, sweetie, and last I checked, Edward wasn't a woman."

I pulled out the collar of my shirt and looked down at my chest. "Definitely not a woman," I affirmed, making them all laugh. With one last wave for Esme, I led the way out the door.

Our family owned four cars, and two of them were specifically for the five of us kids. Emmett and Rosalie took the Jeep while I slid behind the wheel of the Volvo, Jasper taking the seat beside me and Alice skipping into the back. Most of the drive to school was spent with Jasper cursing under his breath and trying to find a good radio station while Alice jabbered on about the required reading list for her English class, but I didn't mind either one of them. They were two of my four best friends, and had been for a long time. The one and only time I had broken down in tears over my other, I had turned to Jasper. He had comforted me, talked me through it, and then never brought it up again. And Alice… it was nearly impossible not to smile when Alice was around.

We had arrived at the campus relatively early, so we were able to find adjacent parking spots. As we left the cars and began moving towards the campus, we attracted some stares from the watching students, but not much. Yes, five new students was kind of a big deal, but not on the first day of school, and not in a public school the size of this one.

Carlisle and Esme had considered sending us to one of the many private schools in the Seattle area, but decided that, since North Pine was a local public high school in the Queen Anne neighborhood – where we lived – with an excellent reputation and that we had all done just fine in our public school in Portland, it wasn't really worth it. Besides, even though Carlisle made a lot of money, there would still come a time when all five of us were in college at once, and that would be a huge financial burden by itself without dealing with high school tuition on top of it.

Class schedules were being handed out by the gym, so we wandered over there, glancing around the campus as we walked. It wasn't the first time we'd been there – registration had been a few weeks ago – but it was the first time we were seeing it populated with students. The buildings were painted white with blue accents, and there were a few small garden patches, but not much. It was definitely pretty, and it looked big enough that someone could become anonymous if he wanted to.

"Okay," sighed Emmett, grinning around at all of us. "This'll be so cool."

"Have you ever had a bad day, Emmett?" Jasper laughed.

Emmett shrugged. "Not since I was fourteen. Anyway, we'll all catch up at lunch, yeah?"

We all agreed and then dispersed in search of our schedules.

Three hours later, I was exhausted.

Not to say that the day had been difficult, because it hadn't. I just had yet to have a class with any of my siblings, and I missed them. And – something I hadn't expected – girls were everywhere.

It was overwhelming.

While this was a huge school, it was down the street from the middle school, which was across the street from the elementary school. Most of these kids had known each other their whole lives, knew everything about each other, had dated pretty much everyone else in whom they were interested. I guess I should have expected it – after all, Jasper and Emmett were both taken, but it would stand to reason that girls would pay attention to me. Alice always teased me about being attractive, but I just _wasn't_. I studied. I went running for fun. My hair, which was just a couple of shades too dark for me to count as a ginger, thank God, never cooperated with me. I was too tall. I was skinny. My face was too square. That was it.

Apparently, to them, it wasn't.

It wasn't like those girls were getting up in my personal space or anything – even though this one girl, Tanya, had come pretty close. I hadn't actually heard anything she'd said, because she'd gotten right up in my face, and I'd backed away so fast I'd almost knocked somebody over.

"Shit! I'm sorry," I'd gasped as I turned around to help him up, but he hadn't even fallen. In fact, he looked like he was fighting a smile as he eyed Tanya.

"No problem. Hey, you need help finding your next class?" he'd asked me, his eyes quickly darting between Tanya and me.

I'd gladly grabbed the rope he was throwing me. "Yeah, actually. Room three-oh-nine. Where's that?"

"We're on the wrong side of campus from the three hundred building," he'd laughed, and jerked his head at me so I followed. He was a skinny kid with glasses, but he just wouldn't stop smiling, and that had to mean something.

"Thanks," I'd muttered once we were out of Tanya's earshot.

He'd laughed. "No problem. I don't mind seeing her squirm. She's kind of a bitch to my girlfriend."

"Why?"

He'd shrugged. "Angela is quiet. She likes to read. It's been a thing with Tanya since kindergarten. Oh, I'm Ben, by the way. Which one of the Cullen kids are you?"

I'd sighed, but not bothered to ask how he knew. "Edward. Nice to meet you."

"You too. So this is Wilson's classroom," he'd added, drawing to a stop in front of a classroom at the very end of the building. "Angela's actually in here. Really tall, really pretty, dark brown hair, glasses. She'll help you out if you need it."

"Thanks, man." I'd reached out to shake Ben's hand, and he grinned at me one last time before disappearing. I'd taken a deep breath then and gotten ready to walk into my fourth classroom of the day.

An hour later, Mrs. Wilson is going over her syllabus with us, and it's an AP class, so I know it's not going to be easy, but that's okay. Angela had smiled at me and waved me over the second I'd entered the room, and I sighed in relief because I could already see another group of girls eyeing me. In fact, now I was afraid to look around the room, because they were… _everywhere_. So much staring. I hunched my shoulders and heard Angela try to smother a giggle and wonder for a second if I really want her as a friend.

The bell rang and Mrs. Wilson dismissed us, but over the rustle of everyone packing up I heard her call for me to hang back for a second. I turned to Angela and muttered, "Thanks for… you know."

She smiled sweetly and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "No problem. I don't know if you have plans with your siblings, but Ben and I sit with our friends on the edge of the planter outside the library. Come join us?"

I shrugged. "Maybe, yeah. Depending on what the others want. Thanks, Angela."

She waved at me as she left, and I turned back to the front of the room, expecting her to be waiting for me to approach her. Instead, she was talking to a girl who was standing there almost folded up on herself, her brown hair hanging like a curtain in front of her face and her arms wrapped tightly against the books she was holding to her chest like they could protect her from something. I hovered in the background, not wanting to make it awkward, but I couldn't help but overhear.

"Bella, I don't understand," Mrs. Wilson said, and she sounded frustrated. "I was looking at Ms. Forrest's records on you from last year, and all the work you turned in was… _perfect_, but that's only when you did turn it in. there are missing assignments, late assignments…" she sighed as she flipped through the file in front of her. "Is there anything I can do to help you out? This is a hard class, and I'd hate to see you fall behind. All your former teachers have such nice things to say about you, and I don't want there to be a problem."

The girl named Bella shook her head once and glanced up. "No, but thank you." Her voice was small. "I'll really try to do better. I was just having a rough time last year, and I fell behind, and then I couldn't get caught up. But it won't be an issue anymore."

Mrs. Wilson eyed her speculatively, but then nodded once. "All right, then. But you let me know the second that it is, Bella."

"Yes, ma'am."

With that, the girl named Bella turned and started to make her escape, but she bumped her hip on a desk and sent the books in her arms tumbling out of them. I hurried over to her to help her pick them up. I thought I saw her flinch when I knelt down next to her, but I wasn't sure.

I stacked her books together and handed them to her. "Here you go."

She quickly mumbled a "thanks" without looking at me before scrambling to her feet and rushing out the door. I stared after her for a few seconds in shock until Mrs. Wilson called my name. Snapping myself out of it, I straightened up and went over to her. "Edward, right?" she checked, and I nodded once, running a hand through my hair, a nervous habit I wish I could get rid of.

"Um, yeah."

"Well, welcome to Pine Ridge," she smiled, and I made myself grin back at her. "Is this your first AP class?"

"No, ma'am, I took European History and Biology last year." She was also my third AP class this year, but I didn't want to get into that in case she thought I was cocky.

"All right, then I don't need to stress to you the importance of the exam." She sat up a little straighter. "Do you have the book for this class?"

"Yes, ma'am," I told her, pulling out the book I'd gotten from the library the day we'd all gone to register for our classes, but she frowned when she saw the cover.

"They've given you the book for the regular class, not the AP text." Still grimacing, she told me to go to the library and change the book out for the right one, and I nodded.

"Thanks, Mrs. Wilson."

"No, thank you, Edward, and welcome. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am."

She waved me away and I walked out of the room and into the crush of people that had appeared in the hallways, heading towards the cafeteria for lunch. I thought I remembered how to get to the library from being here the other day so I tried to move through the hall in the direction opposite to where everyone else was going. Nobody really noticed me in the crowd, and I was kind of glad about that. I'd had enough attention for one day.

Eventually I did find the library, and I kind of sighed in relief when I pulled the door open and slipped inside. It was actually kind of big for a high school, and from what I could tell it was empty of all students. I made my way over to the circulation desk and cleared my throat to get the librarian's attention. The book swap took all of two minutes, and I decided I wasn't quite ready to head out into the school again just yet, so I wandered through the shelves for a while.

I'd just discovered the military history section and was about to pick a book off the shelf when I heard someone stumble in the next aisle over. Quickly, I moved around the shelf to see if anyone needed help, and I saw the quiet dark-haired girl from Mrs. Wilson's class scrambling to collect all the textbooks she'd been holding. Kneeling down to help her, I asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

I thought I saw her flinch at the sound of my voice, but when she looked up at me, I forgot to wonder about that. She had the biggest brown eyes I'd ever seen, but they looked so scared – like she'd been expecting me to push her the rest of the way over or some shit. Her skin was pale, but as soon as she realized I was just trying to help her, she blushed bright red and ducked to hide back behind her hair.

"Um, yeah," she mumbled. "I'm fine. I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" I frowned, stacking her books together and offering her a hand to help her stand up again. I don't know if she didn't see it or what, but she struggled to her feet on her own, and I stood beside her, giving her books back.

"N-nothing," she stuttered, quickly wrapping the books back up in her arms and turning away from me. "Thanks. I'm fine. And sorry again."

With that, she almost ran down the aisle. Later, I realized I should have gone after her, I should have checked on her, but I was too surprised by her actions to move for a few seconds.

Slowly, I made my way back into the military aisle, but I couldn't focus on any of the books anymore. There had been something about her eyes… she had been more than startled when she'd seen me. Almost terrified.

Only that night, as I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling, did I remember that her name was Bella.

_Don't you dare look out your window, darling, everything's on fire._

**So… What did you think? Again, super nervous, so let me know if you like it or not.**


	2. Chapter 2

**First of all, I'm really sorry about the delay. The story wasn't working for me, and I finally wound up completely deleting the draft of this chapter that I had and starting over. Hopefully, it won't happen again. I won't promise every week (knock on wood), but at least every two weeks, okay? You guys are great.**

**Confession time: I know I should reply to reviews. But I can't quite figure that out. Please stand by **

**Also, in the last chapter, I failed at copy/pasting links. So here we go again: **

"**Broken Angel," aka drotuno being a complete badass: www . fanfiction s/5134656/1/ Broken_Angel just delete all the spaces**

"**Safe and Sound," by Taylor Swift feat. The Civil Wars: www . youtube watch? v=RzhAS_GnJIc**

**Hopefully that goes better.**

**Thanks so much to JenRar and drotuno for not only being an amazing beta and pre-reader respectively, but also for the emotional support. You guys are super cool. *air hug***

**That's enough babble, and you've waited long enough for chapter 2.**

The rest of the first week of school was more or less uneventful – new students, even five students part of the same adopted family, could only hold attention for so long. Rosalie made the cheer team; Emmett was a starting linebacker for the football team; and the cross-country coach said he was glad to have me on board. Alice had already impressed her physics teacher; Jasper was considering trying out for the tennis team in the spring. So everything was going well.

Except for one thing.

For all that week, my weird encounter with that Bella girl stuck in the back of my mind, refusing to leave. Every day in English, I'd glance over at her, wanting to say something, anything, but having no idea what I should say. I wanted to ask her if she was okay, but then I really had no reason to think that she wasn't. Sure, I remembered a look of fear in her eyes when I'd spoken to her, but it wouldn't be the first time that I'd read someone wrong. It wasn't a talent of mine – Jasper was the one who was good at that shit.

I frowned to myself; maybe I should talk to him. But that was the thing – about what? There wasn't really a lot to talk about.

Glancing over my shoulder toward her desk in Mrs. Wilson's class, I wondered what it was about her. She was sitting hunched over her desk, religiously copying down everything that came out of Wilson's mouth. Her hair hung in curtains around her face, which was kind of disappointing – I'd wanted to see her eyes.

"Mr. Cullen?" Mrs. Wilson's voice cracked through the classroom, and I jumped slightly before sitting up and facing her. Next to me, Angela bit the inside of her cheek to hide her laughter.

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't hear the question," I stuttered.

Mrs. Wilson frowned at me, and I could tell she was trying to decide whether she wanted to yell at me or not. Eventually, though, she just bit off the words, "In 'The Metamorphosis,' does Kafka want us to understand that Gregor has literally become a giant cockroach?"

I shifted in my seat and considered my answer. It wasn't that I hadn't read the story; it was just a fucking weird story about some guy who works too hard to support his ungrateful family and then metaphorically-or-literally becomes a bug, and then no one cares, and then he dies. "Um," I started, "I think he's literally a bug. If nothing else, Kafka spent a lot of time describing his bugness in detail."

Mrs. Wilson raised an eyebrow. "Bugness."

The class giggled.

Swallowing hard, I made myself continue. "Yes, ma'am. You see, not only is Gregor aware of the changes in his body – even if he isn't overly bothered by them at first – but so is his family. I mean, they lock him up because they're so horrified of him."

Frowning, the teacher opened her mouth to reply to me, but she cut herself off abruptly and looked off behind me. I hesitated, then turned to follow her gaze as she said, "Yes, Bella?"

My eyebrows shot up. Not once had I heard Bella volunteer in class, and usually when Mrs. Wilson called on her, she gave one-word answers. Now, though, she sat up a little straighter and pushed her hair behind her ear as she took a deep breath.

"Um, that could be the point." She started slowly, like she was waiting for someone to cut her off. Clearing her throat, she spoke a little louder. "It could be all in Gregor's head that he's turned into a bug, and he could be imagining his family's reactions, too. It's possible that years of abuse and… and neglect have broken him down so much that he's been driven mad."

Mrs. Wilson nodded thoughtfully, and I sort of noticed that some of the other kids in the class looked almost uncomfortable with Bella's assessment. "I see. So you make the argument that Gregor is in fact still human, but he loses his sense of self. Does he really die at the end, then?"

"It would make sense," I interjected without being called on. Bella's theory actually made a little sense to me, and now my mind was following it. Mrs. Wilson waved me on. "So, okay, he's actually not a bug, but he's acting like one. That freaks out his family, and they start treating him like the dirty little family secret. They just lock him in his room so his madness won't embarrass them. Like the Dursleys do to Harry Potter."

Next to me, Angela snorted again, but this time, I ignored her.

"So eventually," I continued, "he just loses his will to live. His family's ashamed of him, they didn't appreciate him in his lifetime, his dad's now physically abusing him, he doesn't have any friends who care enough to check on him… I'd give up, too." I glanced over my shoulder at Bella to see if she agreed with me, but she was hiding behind her hair again. Huh.

Mrs. Wilson smiled. "Very good, Edward, Bella. Does anyone have anything they'd like to add?"

This girl named Lauren who sat in the back of her room raised her hand. "That's stupid, though. Like Edward said earlier, Kafka's totally all, 'yeah, guys, he's a bug.' If he meant anything else, he would have said it, right? You could totally be making all that other stuff up."

Mrs. Wilson repressed a sigh, and I tried hard not to do the same. Lauren had just called Bella's idea stupid, and I was pretty sure that all she wanted was for me to like how she'd praised me and agree with her. Fuck that. Bimbo peroxide blonde…

"Thank you, Lauren." Mrs. Wilson stood and made her way back to the white board at the front of the room. "Now, I hope you have all been working on your essays for me; they're due a week from today. The bell's due to ring in a few minutes. Keep it down to a dull roar, please."

Chatter erupted all around me as I closed my book and notebook and shoved them back into my backpack. Glancing up again, I considered going over to talk to Bella, but she had pulled out a book of her own and seemed engrossed in it. She'd had a remarkably clear voice, I'd noted. She hadn't sounded confident in what she was saying.

"Angela," I said slowly, turning back around to face her.

She glanced up, smiling slightly.

"What's the deal with Bella?"

Abruptly, Angela's grin disappeared. "Not here," she hissed at me, and I felt my eyebrows lift again before turning to stare at the clock.

Angela rolled her eyes at me, but before she could say anything, the bell rang. Everyone stood and began to rush toward the door; I looked over my shoulder for Bella one more time and saw her tucking her book away before pulling on her backpack and following the rest of the kids toward the front of the room. I wanted to wait for her, but I wanted to talk to Angela more, so with a sigh, I left.

"So?" I prompted Angela once we were in a crowded hallway where the endless voices would drown out our conversation.

Angela drummed her fingers on the spine of the textbook in her arms before she answered. When she did, it was like she was choosing her words carefully. "Bella's quiet. I mean, she's always been quiet, ever since she moved here. But that's probably because of her mom."

"Her mom?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "Bella's parents divorced when she was really young, and I think her mom got full custody or something – she didn't see her dad a lot growing up. Anyway, the summer before sophomore year, her mom died in a car accident."

I inhaled sharply. "Shit."

Nodding sadly, Angela said, "Yeah. Bella was fifteen at the time, still a minor, obviously, and so she moved here to live with her dad. I remember my parents talking about it. I don't know if I've told you, but my dad edits the local section of the _Seattle Times_, and he told my mom that it was the first that a lot of people in this city knew about the Chief of Police even having a kid. I guess he never talked about her."

I frowned at that. "That's a little strange, though, isn't it? I mean, I'd get it if he was a private person, but no one even knowing that his daughter existed?"

Angela shrugged. "He's an extremely public figure, Edward. If the divorce was nasty or something, nasty enough for his wife to get full custody of the kid, I wouldn't ever bring up anything about it."

At that, I stopped walking and pulled her to the side of the hallway, into a gap between two locker banks. "What? Her mom got full custody because her father–"

"Whoa, Edward." Angela held up her hands. "I didn't say anything bad about the Chief. I wouldn't know anything anyway. All I meant was that he might not have fought his ex for custody so that he could focus on his career. There are a lot of dads like that – hell, there are a lot of _moms_ like that."

Nodding slowly, I stepped back out into the hall, and she walked beside me in the direction of the cafeteria. Angela continued, sounding a little more cautious than before. "I wouldn't be surprised if Bella's lonely right now. You might not know this, but Seattle PD is having some problems at the moment."

"Right." I nodded. "The Department of Justice is investigating them for excessive use of force or something, right?"

"Mmhmm," hummed Angela. "A lot of it has to do with those Occupy people. Anyway, I bet Bella's dad is really busy right now."

I didn't say anything in reply to that. Again, the image of Bella's fear-filled eyes in the library last week flashed in front of my vision, and I wondered if there was anything more to what Angela knew or suspected.

I needed advice, and I didn't want to get it from Angela. It would just be too complicated – she seemed determined to believe the best of the Chief of Police. Besides, I should go to a third party.

My first choice in any other situation, obviously, would have been Carlisle. But for some reason, that didn't feel right this time. I knew that his job as Chief of Medicine at the Virginia Mason Hospital – the largest hospital system in the city – put him in close contact with important city officials, which probably included the Chief of Police. I had no idea if he'd met Bella's dad or not, but if he had, his opinion might have been colored. For the same reason, I couldn't go to Esme – she and Carlisle had no secrets, and she'd be sure to pass on what I said.

That left my siblings, and from there, the choice was obvious. Jasper would stay calm and rational, and he'd look at the situation from all angles, including any that I hadn't yet thought of.

Angela hadn't interrupted my distracted silence until we reached the cafeteria doors, and I just nodded when she bid me goodbye to go sit with Ben and their friends. Without paying much attention, I went through the lunch line, grabbing only a slice of pizza. When I took my seat at the table with my siblings, I was still lost in thought and responded only vaguely to their greetings. I took a bite of pizza and chewed mechanically, not tasting anything. I don't know how long I would have continued like that, had a sharp pain not suddenly bloomed in my shin.

"_Shit,_" I cursed, leaning down to rub my leg. "Alice, that hurt."

"Well, you're not listening," she complained.

We glared at each other for a moment before I sighed and looked back down. "Sorry, guys. I know I'm out of it."

"Anything you want to talk about?" Jasper asked carefully.

I shook my head but caught his eye, hoping that he understood that I'd want to speak with him alone later. After a moment, he nodded and reengaged Alice in conversation about her newfound love for mechanical physics.

The attention off me for the moment, I glanced around the cafeteria again, looking for Bella. I didn't see her, and I wondered if she spent lunch every day in the library. That would make sense, if she was as shy as she'd appeared to me over the last few days.

Was she really shy, though? Or was she hiding?

My last two classes were harmless, but practice that day was punishing. The cross country coach had decided that we were ready to move from five miles to six, and the first route he'd picked was mostly uphill. I finished in the middle of the group, whereas I'd been in the top three for the last few days. Coach noticed, and he held me back to make sure I was okay. I promised him I was fine, and just hadn't expected the extra mile.

"You'll get it together, though?" he asked, and I knew full well that it wasn't a request.

"Yes, sir."

"Good." He nodded, satisfied. "Then hit the showers, son. You stink."

I made myself grin at him before taking off after the rest of the team.

_The library was unusually empty for this time of day, she mused as she sat curled up in an armchair in her favorite corner with her US history homework. She didn't mind, though. She'd never really liked crowds, a slight phobia that had gotten a little worse since she'd come to Seattle. Lifting the cup that she'd been balancing precariously on the chair's arm, she drained the last of the hot chocolate and debated whether or not she wanted to buy a new one._

_She sighed. She probably didn't have enough money in her wallet._

_That was another thing, she thought wryly. Even if he couldn't touch it, her father still oversaw the money she'd inherited from her mother. She doubted he ever thought about it like that, though – he could control her in other ways, and he knew it. Surreptitiously, she tugged down on the hem of her sweater, hoping that the bruise that spread over her left flank was fully covered, before returning to her homework._

_She had already finished her math and was very nearly done with reading the last of her history. The American Revolution hadn't even started yet, although she supposed that all the Framers and the British would have seen it coming by this point, what with the eloquent speeches and the outright refusal to pay taxes. Flipping idly through the pages, she noticed again that most of the people named in the text were men. How many women of the time, she wondered, were silent because they chose it, and how many were silent because they feared the consequences?_

_Half an hour later, the chapter was done, tea had been dumped into the Boston Harbor, five people had been shot on King Street, also in Boston, and Patrick Henry had demanded either liberty or death. Yeah, the war was coming in the next chapter._

_As she went to tuck her book away, her notes from English caught her eye, and she wondered again what had prompted her to speak up like she had. The last thing she needed was attention. She couldn't stand it if someone learned what her life was like – she couldn't take the pity. And they'd want to take her away from home, and who would want her then? Where would she go?_

_That boy, the new one, what was his name? Edward? He'd talked about Gregor being so beaten down that he'd lost the will to live. Who did this boy think he was, talking about abuse like he had any idea what it was to live it, to deal with it every day? He didn't know anything._

_Impatiently, she swallowed the lump that had appeared in her throat and ran a brisk finger under her eyes. Two more years. Two years, and then college. If she worked harder than she had last year, she'd get a scholarship; she knew she would. That was all she had to do._

_Shouldering her bag, she glanced out the great glass wall of the Seattle Public Library, glad to note that it was overcast but not raining. She still wasn't used to driving in the rain. Her car was from Phoenix, and she suspected that it might have the wrong tires for the hills and wet roads of Seattle, but her father couldn't be bothered to check it out. And she knew next to nothing about cars, so she had no idea which questions to ask in the first place._

_She was almost at the exit when her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she closed her eyes in dread. No. Oh please, no…_

_She forced herself to walk the dozen steps left to the door, and once she was outside, she dragged her phone from her pocket and hit the accept button. "Hello?"_

"_Where the hell are you?" he demanded, fire in his voice. "I just called the house and you didn't pick up."_

"_I just went to the library, Dad, I'm sorry," she babbled, hurrying up the street to where she had parked her car. "I was doing my homework."_

_He snarled into the phone. "I bought you a goddamn desk for your bedroom, didn't I? What was the fucking point of that if you don't use it? I don't pay for your gas money so you can go all the fucking way downtown."_

"_Dad, I–"_

"_I don't fucking want to hear it. You get your ass home, and you sure as shit better have dinner ready when I get there. And am I going to have to remind you about all the shit I do for you? Do you need a reminder? Huh?"_

_She whimpered, and he heard it. "Answer me, goddamn it!"_

"_No," she gasped out. "No, please, I'll remember next time, I will–"_

"_Shut up," he snapped. "Just shut up. Get yourself home. I have a meeting about to start and I don't want to listen to your whining." He hung up on her, but before he did, she thought she caught the word "worthless."_

_She came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk on Fifth Avenue, willing the tears not to fall down her face. Deep breaths, she told herself. Deep breaths. There's nothing else you can do about it…_

_That last thought sobered her up, and she straightened her shoulders before hurrying the rest of the way to her car. She'd go back to the house, start dinner, and finish her paper for English._

_And she would wait for him to get home._

When I got home from practice, Jasper was sitting on the porch steps, his guitar in hand with what looked like a new set of sheet music beside him.

"Trying something new out?" I asked as I approached him with my backpack and gym bag slung over my shoulder.

Nodding, he told me, "Yeah, it's off the new Coldplay album. Wanna try it out with me after dinner?"

"Yeah, sounds good." I hesitated, and he saw it.

Setting his guitar back in its case behind him, he motioned for me to put my stuff down next to it. "Let's walk, little brother."

"'Kay," I agreed, stepping down from the porch with him, wishing I wasn't wearing basketball shorts so that I could shove my hands into pockets.

Jasper waited until we had walked the length of the block and turned the corner before he spoke. "Well?"

I sighed. "Listen, when I start this story, it's going to sound different than it actually is," I warned him, and he raised an eyebrow at me. "There's… Jazz, there's a girl."

"Ah." Jasper nodded slowly, fighting a smile.

"Not like that, I told you," I added impatiently. "She's in my English class, and I'm worried about her."

At that, his brow furrowed. "Why?"

I opened my mouth to tell him about my brief encounter with Bella in the library last week, but decided it would make more sense if I started somewhere else. So instead, I repeated what Angela had told me about Bella's family.

"So her mom died, and she got uprooted to live with a father she barely knew?" Jasper whistled low. "Damn. Me and Rose were so young when our parents died, we don't really remember much. I can't imagine dealing with it when I was fifteen…"

"Right." I nodded. "Anyway, like I said, she's in my English class," I continued, "and there's something off about her."

"Off how?"

"I think… I think she's scared of something, Jazz." I raised my arms and folded my hands behind my head as we walked on. "I can't explain it. But last week, I had to swap out a textbook in the library, and I ran into her… She dropped some shit, and she automatically apologized."

"Alice apologizes when she drops shit all the time," Jasper pointed out, but he wasn't condescending. It was like he had an idea where I was going and wanted me to explain more.

"Not like that." I shook my head. "It was like she was rushing out the apology before I could… I don't know… get mad at her or some shit."

"Hmm."

I hurried on before he could react further. "And then today in class, she all of a sudden volunteered an idea about the text we're reading, but it was about how the main character put up with abuse from his family and it drove him crazy. I've been in that class with her for over a week now, and she never talks, ever, and she just volunteered this. And then – I wasn't thinking, or I didn't make a connection – I said something about that driving the character to his death, and she shut up. Just like that."

Jasper nodded again but didn't look at me, and I also stared straight ahead. We kept walking through the safe, residential neighborhood, underneath the overcast sky. Every once in a while, we'd pass a front yard that had kids playing in it, or a couple sitting on their porch, or whatever. But I couldn't pay attention to any of that. I was waiting for Jasper to speak.

When he finally did, his voice was quiet. "Why don't you go to Carlisle?"

"Because she's the police chief's daughter."

Jasper spun to face me, his eyes wide. "Shit."

I nodded. "I know, Jazz. And you were never in a group home – but I remember that Emmett and I knew this kid once whose dad was a cop. Whenever the neighbors called nine-one-one for domestic disturbances at their house, when his dad was wailing on his mom, the responding cops would just… just take him for a walk around the block. They said it was to cool him down. For the longest time, no one did shit to help the kid or the mom so they wouldn't make the dad look bad."

"And he was just a beat cop," Jasper groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Yeah. The chief of police…"

Again, we fell silent, and I noted with vague surprise that we were almost to the top of Queen Anne Hill. I hadn't even felt the strain of climbing.

Once we reached the summit, we didn't continue down the other side. Jasper turned and folded his arms across his chest as he stared out across Lake Union to downtown Seattle, and I followed suit. Where did Bella live, I wondered. Did she have any extended family, maybe on her mother's side, who called to check up on her every once in a while? Had the mother had a boyfriend or a husband who had wanted to take care of her? Had she _wanted_ to live with her father?

"What if we're wrong?" I murmured.

Jasper cut his eyes at me. "Do you think we're wrong?"

"No one ever thinks he's wrong, Jasper. But what if we are?"

He sighed. "We make sure. What do you think you should do next?"

The answer floated up so quickly, I wondered if I'd been heading toward it all week. "I want to talk to her. Not about this, but about… anything. I want to get to know her."

"Okay." Jasper nodded. "Invite her to eat lunch with us tomorrow."

"She might not be comfortable with that," I cautioned him. "If she's not, then I'm just going to ask if I can hang out with her alone. Or… maybe I could get Alice, and the two of us could meet up with her?"

Jasper agreed. "That might be a better idea, actually. Um… I don't like this idea, but I think that we need to keep what we suspect just between us. Alice and Rose and Em don't need to know. Like you said, we could be wrong."

He waited for me to nod before going on. "Okay, so do that. If nothing else, it sounds like the girl could do with a few friends. But before we do anything or say anything else… we have to be sure. I don't like it, but that's the way it is." He turned to face me. "Listen, this could turn into a god-awful political mess. The son of the brand new Chief of Medicine of Virginia Mason accusing the Chief of the Seattle Police Department of child abuse? That's not going to go over well. Even if we're right, if it goes badly, it could do all kinds of shit to Carlisle's career. Worst-case scenario, it might lead people to question whether or not he and Esme are good foster parents themselves."

I grimaced. "You think this'll go public?"

"I think that our dad and Bella's father are very important people, and I think that family court cases are long and drawn out and messy. You'd know that better than I would."

I nodded, looking back out at the lake. I did know. "I've thought about that, Jazz, all of it. But I honestly believe that she needs help." Faltering, I realized how big this had suddenly gotten. This morning, all Bella had been to me was a quiet, nervous girl on the periphery of my English class. Now, I'd somehow cast her as a sort of damsel in distress, desperately needing me to swoop in and save her.

At the end of the day, though, I suspected that something was wrong. And I suspected that I could help make it better, just by being her friend.

"Okay. I'll talk to her. And… I guess we'll see what happens after that."

_The war outside our door keeps raging on._

**So I hope you're enjoying it so far. I understand if you're finding the subject matter a little heartbreaking, but it will get better. Not right away, but it will get better.**

**Follow me on Twitter? Lily_Cullen.**

**At the very latest, I'll see you again two weeks from today. Probably sooner. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! I'm sorry for the delay, but some of you know that this is a really personal, really emotionally charged story for me to write, so I guess I'll just stop making you promises about dates when I'll update. I want to give you the best writing that I can, and I absolutely can't rush this.**

**Thanks so much to Deb and Jenny, drotuno and jenrar, for being amazing pre and/or beta readers and general badasses, and also for not forgetting me after my long hiatus. And thanks to all my returning readers for sticking around. New readers - welcome!**

**Just a reminder, I'm getting a fair amount of inspiration from the Taylor Swift song "Safe and Sound," so if you want to check that out, please do so.**

~oOo~

Resolving to talk to a girl and actually talking to a girl are two different things.

For the next three days, I spent the fifty-six minutes of Mrs. Wilson's English class glancing at Bella out of the corner of my eye, waiting for an opening, for her to say or do something that I could comment on to her after class. It never came. It was as if she felt she'd wildly overstepped whatever personal boundaries she'd set for herself when she'd spoken up about "The Metamorphosis" and didn't dare risk it again. After the second time that Mrs. Wilson asked me a direct question and I had to have her restate it, Angela noticed.

"What's going on with you?" she hissed at me when Mrs. Wilson told us to get into partners and discuss some piece of text. "I mean, I know I don't know you that well, Edward, but this isn't like you."

I wanted to ask for her help, I really did, but I had no idea how to go about that without giving away too much of my suspicions. So I just shrugged. Angela glared at me for another moment before huffing, turning in her seat, and slamming her book open. Wondering vaguely what her problem was, I glanced at the list of questions that Mrs. Wilson had left on the board, and we got to work.

But when the bell rang, I decided that I'd had enough of my own inactivity. My head swiveled as I searched for Bella, but I couldn't find her. Without saying goodbye to Angela, I grabbed my stuff and bolted for the door. I knew where to find her.

It was hard, once I'd made it to the library, to work up the courage to actually go speak to her, much less plan out what I was going to say. But remembering how I'd felt before I'd come to live with the Cullens – lost, alone, praying every day that someone would care enough to notice Emmett and me, would care to wonder exactly what was going on with our stepdad – I knew I owed it to her to at least try.

Taking a deep breath, I shoved open the library door and stepped out of the noisy, crowded hallway into this little sanctuary. I guessed it was obvious why Bella wanted to hide out here – it was the same kind of environment that I'd craved while living with my mom and stepdad. There was something about books that made everything okay. You could be around them, not even necessarily reading one, and all your problems would disappear.

When your own imagination is too dark, sometimes all you need is the refuge of someone else's.

The last time I'd run into Bella in here, she had been over by the military books. Figuring it was as good a starting point as any, I made my way past the circulation desk and down the bank of shelves before turning down an aisle. Bella wasn't there, so I kept walking down the aisle until I reached the other end and then wandered along the rows and rows of shelves…until I found her.

She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning up against the shelves, her bag beside her and a book open on her lap. She looked so absorbed in what she was reading that I almost didn't want to bother her, but then I noticed how she had one arm wrapped tightly around her midsection, like she was trying to hold herself together. Taking a deep breath, I walked forward.

"Hey," I said quietly, sitting down across from her and crossing my own legs in a mirror image of hers.

She looked up at me, startled, much the same way she had when I'd run into her last week, but didn't speak. She didn't flinch away, though, and I took this as a good sign.

Nodding at the book in her lap, I asked, "What are you reading?"

Bella stared at me for anther moment before turning her head slightly so that her hair swung loose to hide half her face. Nevertheless, she answered me. "Um, it's called _Drift._ It's a book on military spending."

"Really?" I raised my eyebrows. "Are you interested in politics and stuff, then?"

She shrugged but responded, "Um, yeah. I mean, on my way home, I pass the Occupy people, and I got curious about some of the stuff they're saying."

"Who wrote that?"

"Rachel Maddow." For some reason, Bella blushed. "I know, she's really liberal, and I need to read some stuff by conservatives to get both sides of the issue."

"How old are you?" I blurted without thinking. Seriously, though, what sixteen-year-old spent most of her time thinking about the federal budget?

A voice that sounded a lot like Jasper's whispered in my ear, _One who needs to think about something as far removed from her own circumstances as possible._

"Sixteen." Bella bit down on her bottom lip, and I was distracted by the sight of her teeth pressing into her full lip. She had really big brown eyes, too… She was pretty, in an unconventional, look-twice kind of way. But I wondered if I'd have to look twice if she didn't feel like she needed to hide. "Why?"

"Because you seem really…intense," I finally decided to say, for lack of a better word.

Again, Bella blushed bright red and ducked her head down, and I scrambled around for something to say. "I didn't mean that in a bad way," I stammered. "What else are you into?"

Without looking up, Bella shrugged. "I don't know. I don't do much – I just read about stuff."

"That's still better than me, though," I joked, hoping to get a smile out of her. For some reason, I really wanted to see her smile. When she didn't react at all, though, I decided it was time to change the subject. "Have you eaten yet?"

Her arm tightened around her midsection, and she shook her head.

"Well, are you hungry?"

"I don't…eat lunch at school," she mumbled, and I frowned.

"Why not?" I demanded, and Bella just shrugged. "Well, come on, then. You should eat something. I'll buy for you if you don't have your wallet."

Now Bella did look up at me, her eyebrows rising so high, I thought they'd disappear into her hairline. "Why would you do that?"

_Because I've been __hungry…when__ my mom's bastard husband would rather drink money than let us eat_. "Do I need a reason?"

"Yes. You don't know me, Edward."

"But I'd like to." I grinned at her. Wait – was I _flirting_? That was a first.

Bella just frowned, biting her lip again. "Edward, I don't want to go out there. Please."

I stared at her for another moment and then shrugged, pulling out my cell phone. I scrolled through my contacts until I found Alice's name and then hit send.

"You can't use your phone in here," Bella hissed, getting more animated then I'd seen her yet in this conversation, and glanced hastily around – for the librarian, I guessed.

I ignored her.

Alice finally picked up on the fourth ring. "Hey, big brother, where are you?"

"Library. Listen, can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, sure! What's up?"

Bella, realizing what I was doing, glared at me and motioned for me to hang up. Again, I ignored her.

"Can you bring enough food for two people to the library?" I asked Alice. "We're in the American History section."

"Absolutely. But who's _we_?" Alice nearly squealed.

Sighing, I rolled my eyes. "I'll introduce you when you get here, I promise."

"Got it. Give me like five minutes, please."

"You're the best, Ali. Don't let anyone tell you different." I smiled as Alice giggled and hung up.

Glaring at me – the first real expression I'd seen on her face – Bella demanded, "What was that?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Library voice, please."

"Edward, I do not need your help. Okay? I'm fine. I just don't like eating lunch."

I opened my mouth to retort and then closed it as I realized what this must have looked like to her. She'd been sitting here in the library, minding her own business, trying to read something, and then this random guy from her English class came and sat down next to her and practically ordered her to eat, and all – though she didn't know it – to prove to himself that she was being abused.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I just don't like the idea of you hanging out in here alone and not eating."

Now it was Bella's turn to cut herself off before she could say something. She stared at me curiously, but for a moment, I thought I saw something spark in her eyes. But then it was gone, and she was pulling her book in closer to her. "Thanks, I guess."

I shrugged. "It's no problem. And if you don't like what Alice brings, you don't have to eat it. This is really presumptuous of me, anyway."

"No," Bella hurried to say. "I mean… I guess it's—"

"Edward?" I heard Alice's stage whisper from a few rows over, and I closed my eyes briefly because Bella had immediately shut up and retreated behind her hair again.

"Over here, Alice."

Moments later, my favorite sibling poked her spiky black head around the end of the row, saw me, and let her face split into a huge grin. "Hey, there."

"Hey." I motioned for Alice to sit next to me, and she did, plopping her bag down on top of mine. "Alice Cullen, this is Bella Swan; we have English together. Alice is my foster sister, Bella."

Bella offered a tiny smile. "Pleased to meet you."

"You, too!" Alice grinned back before handing both of us a foil-wrapped cylinder. "Burritos. Oh, and juice. I have juice." Rummaging around in her bag, she came up with a bottle of orange juice, one of cranberry juice, and one of apple. "Bella, which one do you want?"

"Oh." Bella looked lost for a moment. "Um, whichever."

Alice stared at her for a moment and then shrugged, taking the cranberry for herself. I didn't move, and slowly, Bella's hand crept out and wrapped around the apple.

_Good_.

I didn't know why it mattered to me so much that Bella had picked out a juice bottle for herself. But as I watched her take tiny bites of her burrito, I wondered how often she got to decide what she was eating based only on what she wanted to eat.

Alice roused me from this train of thought with a question for Bella. "So you and Edward have English together? With Wilson?"

Bella nodded. "Yeah, it's a good class."

"I suck at English." Alice made a face. "I mean, I speak it fine – shut up, Edward," she snapped when I snorted, "I just don't like literary analysis."

"Bella's awesome at lit analysis," I volunteered, and she flinched.

"Really?" Alice sparkled. "Then we should totally get together for assignments in that class. I'll have no idea what I'm doing, and I'd be so glad for your help that I'd repay you in snicker doodles."

"What?" I turned sharply to her. "You don't make me snicker doodles, even when I beg."

"This is a form of payment, Edward. Stop whining. If you choose to be present at Bella's and my study sessions, you may help yourself to any cookies that remain."

Bella spoke up, but her voice was still soft. "Thanks, guys, but I don't know if I can. My dad doesn't like me studying at other people's houses."

It was the first time she'd mentioned her father, and I noticed that she'd looked back down at the ground and set aside the remains of her burrito when she did. Before I could speak, Alice jumped in again.

"Go ahead and ask him," she urged. "I'm sure he knows our dad – the new Chief of Medicine at Virginia Mason. If we do it tomorrow, our mom will be home. She doesn't teach an afternoon class on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

Bella ducked her head, considering it, and I held my breath. Moments passed, and she still didn't speak.

Finally, I said quietly, "Bella, please. It'd be great to see you outside of school." I hesitated and then added, "And Alice does make some badass cookies."

Bella raised her eyes and met my gaze, and I didn't blink. That spark that I thought I'd seen earlier was back, and I didn't look away, willing her to agree to come with us. Finally, she nodded. "Okay. I'll ask."

"Great!" Alice clapped her hands together. "Okay, ask tonight, and then text Edward the answer. If he says yes, we'll pick you up for school tomorrow morning so we can take you to our house afterwards, and then we can take you home. Here, give Edward your phone so he can put his number in."

At that, Bella turned a bright, burning red, but she did indeed dig a cell phone out of her pocket and pass it to me. There was no security lock or password on it, and as I went to enter my number, I noticed that there were almost no contacts. Frowning, I also plugged in Alice's number and then used Bella's phone to text both Alice and me so we'd have her number, too. "There. Yeah, let us know, okay?"

The bell rang just then, and Bella closed the military spending book and slipped it back onto the shelf behind her. Alice led the way to the library doors, almost skipping at the prospect of having made a new friend. I was more subdued, though. Bella hadn't said or done anything concrete to make me sure that something was wrong in her life, but I still couldn't shake the feeling – if anything, it was stronger now.

As we left the library and joined the crowd in the hallway rushing to class, Alice realized that Bella had never responded to us. "So," she said, spinning to face Bella expectantly. "You'll text us?"

Bella looked from Alice to me and then back again before whispering with a faint smile on her face, "Yes. I'll let you know."

"Cool!" Alice said brightly before turning and bouncing in down the hall.

I gave Bella one last, searching look – under which she blushed – before telling her I'd see her later and heading after Alice. Our next classes were in the same direction.

"Thanks," I told her when I caught up to her.

Alice nodded, no longer smiling. "Jasper told me what you said about her."

I'd expected that he would. "And what do you think?"

She sighed, long and loud. "I think that's one scared little girl, Edward. Keep trying, okay? Even if she pushes back."

I nodded once, and Alice gave me a small smile before she ducked into her classroom.

~oOo~

_He knew. Maybe his sister did, too._

_She had no idea how he would have found out – she'd gotten so good at hiding it that in over two years, no one had suspected._

_But this boy – _this boy _– had somehow figured out about her father. __She'd__ seen it in his eyes._

_She remembered the look in his eyes as he'd studied her in the library, how he'd insisted that she eat, how he'd let his sister push her into getting out of her house._

_Maybe she should, she mused as she slid onto her stool in her chemistry class. God knew, it would be good to spend some time somewhere that wasn't either school or her father's house. But she had to be sure to ask this time. She winced and put a hand to her shoulder as she remembered what had happened when she came home from making that stop at the library the previous week._

_Her last two classes were uneventful, and she kept thinking back to the look in Edward's eyes as he'd let his sister talk her into a study group. It hadn't looked like pity, and she supposed that was something. Maybe he didn't really know after all, and he was just interested in her._

_Immediately, she quashed that idea. Of course he wasn't interested in her as a person – who would be? There was nothing at all special about her. Alice just needed help with her English homework, and Edward had heard her speak up in class once and decided that she was good at it._

_She was preoccupied all afternoon – as she did her homework and made dinner and folded a load of laundry. When her father came home, he barely acknowledged her before trudging upstairs to change out of his suit. She sighed in relief when he was out of the room._

_Of course she was afraid of him. She spent her life being afraid of him. She'd never been sure, but she thought that her mother had left him when his abuse didn't end after the birth of their daughter. Renee and Bella had lived in Phoenix up until Renee died in a car accident when Bella was twelve. Renee had been engaged at the time of her death, and her fiancé had petitioned for custody of Bella, but Charlie Swan had refused to consider continuing paying child support to the man who'd been sleeping with his wife. So he'd brought Bella to Washington, not because he loved her…but because he wanted to spite her mother's memory._

_She wondered if he had ever loved her. Maybe he would have, had she been the son she suspected he desperately wanted. He certainly treated his new male recruits in the police department with enough paternal affection._

_Charlie stumped down the stairs just as Bella was taking the roast out of the oven. She'd prepared a standard meat-and-potatoes dinner in the interest of getting on his good side. After all, it wasn't every day that she asked him for something, but when she did, it usually helped to have him well-fed. They ate in silence – or rather, she watched him eat in silence – for a few minutes before she spoke._

"_Dad?"_

_Charlie grunted. He hated the word, yet had never been able to come up with a suitable replacement for it in Bella's vocabulary._

"_Um, this year, there are some new kids at my school – I guess their dad is the new Chief of Medicine at Virginia Mason?"_

_At that, Charlie stilled. "Carlisle Cullen?" He had, in fact, met Dr. Cullen – the hospital had hosted a gala to welcome him the previous Saturday. He'd only spoken to Cullen for a few minutes, but neither of them had mentioned their children._

"_Yes." Bella wasn't actually sure what the doctor's first name was, but she figured that had to be right. "Um, two of his kids are taking the same English class as me – one of them is actually in my class – and they wanted to know if I could go to a study session with them tomorrow afternoon."_

_And then she held her breath._

_Charlie slapped his fork down his plate, and his beady eyes bored into his daughter. "Where?" he snapped._

"_At – at the Cullens' house."_

"_Hmm." For several moments, Charlie said nothing, just stared at Bella._

"_Fine. But I want you to remember, girl." He leaned forward and pointed at her. "You're to be back in time to make dinner. I don't ask much of you, so you can do that. Can't you?"_

_Bella swallowed. "Yes, sir."_

"_Fine." Charlie slumped back in his seat. "Go, then. I'm going to watch the news." He shoved himself up out of his seat and lumbered off into the living room. Seconds later, Bella heard the TV click on._

_She exhaled sharply, giving herself a moment to enjoy her tiny victory before she began to clear the table and start the dishes. She hadn't seen the apprehension in her father's eyes, the tension in his gait as he left the room. She had no way of knowing exactly how much this one little agreement would change her life._

~oOo~

_The sun is going __down_

**~oOo~**

**If it feels like this chapter was a little light on content, just remember that Edward is quite out of his depth here. As yet, I'm not sure how long this story will be, but I'm thinking around twenty chapters... ish. :)**_  
_

**See you soon (hopefully)!**


	4. author's note

Hey, everyone. Sorry for the non-update, but I've been gone for a while and I think you all deserve to know why.

As some of you know, I'm a third-year student in college and I'm studying criminal justice. As most of you have probably deduced, I was abused as a child – physically, emotionally, and sexually. I was triggered several weeks ago, and then started doing some eating disordery things, and exhibiting a lot of symptoms of clinical depression.

Writing is helping me get over that, and I'm working on my two other stories, and writing a lot of poetry just for myself, but I just can't deal with "Everything's On Fire" just now. I'm going to leave it up, but it's officially on hiatus. I really hope you can all understand why.

I really want to thank JenRar for checking up on me a few weeks ago, and I'm sorry I never replied to her email. I wasn't in a great frame of mind at the time. But she and drotuno have been great.

I'm taking steps to heal myself (therapy, allowing my friends to support me, etc), and someday soon I hope to be able to finish this story. I appreciate your patience and understanding. God bless.


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